Figure-toy attachment for disk phonographs.



E. L. DODSON L H. G. PELSTRING.'

FIGURE TOY ATTACHMENT FOR DISK PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1918.

Lg., Patented Feb.11,1919.

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EDWIN L. DODSON AND HENRY GEORGE PELSTRING", F COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.

FIGURE-TOY ATTACHMENT FOR DISK PHONOGRAPHS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. lil, 1919.

To all wwm t may concern:

lBe it known that we, EDWIN L. DonsoN and HENRY GEORGE PELSTRING, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Figure-Toy Attachments for Disk. Phonographs, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to figure-toy attachments for disk honographs, and more especially to remova le attachments for use in connection with the disk-records to seemingly harmonize. with the music being produced through the medium of said diskrecords and the rotation of the latter being utilized in putting action into said figuretoy attachments to simulate dancing, jigging, acrobatic and other pleasing movements to entertain the observer while' otherwise listening to the music or other accompaniment of the disk-records. f Y

The special object and detail structure of the improvements herein will be defined in the description of the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of a phonograph, showing the upper part of the cabinet with the upper lid thrown partly open and with our invention herein in position for use; Fig. 2, a rear sectional elevation of the gure-toy attachment embodying our invention herein, showing al fragmentary part of the turntable in section and, also, a fragmentary part of the upper sounding-board of the phonograph over which the said turn-table or disk-record holder is mounted for rotation; Fig. 3, a fragmentary section of the parts shown in Fig..2, taken at a ri ht-angle to said Fig. 2, and on the dottedine a, a, of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a sectional plan taken on the dotted-line b, b, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a diagram of the strip or piece of material used in the formation of the upright portion of the scaffold-support of the ligure-toy; Fig. 6, a diagram of the'strip or piece of material used in the preferred form of base-plate for attaching the scaffold to the upper sounding-board of the phonograph in operating position; Fig. 7, a plan view of the guide device used by us in facilitating the accurate attachment of the said scaffold base-plate in place on the said sounding-board; and Fig. 8, a d etail sectional view of the baseplate,show1ng the peculiar form of joint for detachably securing the lower end of the upright portion of the scaffold thereto.

1 1nd1cates the upper part of the casing or cabinet of the phonograph; 2, the needlecarrier graphophone horn thereof; 3, the hinged cover or 11d; 4.-, the rotary turn-table: 5, the tapered head at the upper end of the central stem or shaft 6, upon which head the said turn-table is mounted for rotation therewith over the sounding-board 7; and 8, thecustomary disk-record mounted 0n the turn-table and having its usual plain margin or border 9 outside the line of the etched or grooved record-portion 20 thereof. We have shown in Fig. l the cover or lid part-Way open, as itappears in the use of the phonograph when the ligure-toy attachment is in observing and performing place.

rlhus far we havedescribed but the ordinary form of phonograph in general use and we will now take up the details of the preferred form of figure-toy attachment for use in connection with the machine to add visible to its audible purposes of entertainment and amusement.

10 indicates the upright portion of a Scaffold or pedestal and 1l the horizontal attaching base-plate thereof, a pair of small holes 12 being provided in the latter to accommodate short vertical screws 13 that secure it to the sounding-board 7 in readily detachable position' so that said upright portion 10 may b e properly held and distanced from the peripheral edge of the turntable 4 to suit the presence and operation of the figure-toy devices comprising the main features of the invention and to which We will now refer in detail.

The base-plate 11 being provided, as above stated, with a pair of small holes 12, a removable guide-card or gage-sheet 14, such as is best shown in Fig. 7, is preferably used to facilitate the accurate setting and securing of the base-plate in place on the sounding-board 7 so that it shall bear the proper relation to the front positlon of the peripheral edge of the turn-table 4 in supporting the upright portion 10 of the scaffold for the desired working of the figure-toy devices.

The said guide-card 14 is provided with each ligure-toy device for use with a phonograph in setting up the figure-toy in proper position, as above stated, and it has a hole 15 that freely engages the cylindrical base of the tapered head 5 at the upper end of the disk driving-shaft 6, for its ready handling to and from position on the soundingboard 7. Holes 16 are made near the fore end of the guide-card to serve as ready means in the making of lolesi'rdbts on the surface of the sounding-board to suit the exact position of the screw-holes 12 in the baseplate 11, the said holes 16 and the holes 12 duly registering when the guide-card has been used.

An arrow or pointer 1'( is preferably printed or otherwise produced on the surface of the guide-card, to accurately point to the front of the turn-table and thereby centralize the said guidebard for the proper and speedy setting of the said base-plate 11. The guide-card can be easily removed from the sounding-board and the shaft-head 5 after the holes 12 for the fastening-screws 13 of the base-plate have been marked or punched through the guide-holes 16, (perforated-pattern like), and then the turntable can be properly set on its tapered driving shaft-head 5 for :operation through the medium of the customary power or motor mechanism located within the casing or cabi net of the phonograph.

18 indicates a pair of minute holes made in the guide-card to the rear of the pair of 'similar holes 16, and 19 is a dotted-line or the like printed or otherwise produced on the surface of the said guide-card intermediate the pairs of holes 16 and 18, the purpose thereof being hereinafter more fully referred to. The remainder of the surface of the guide-card 14 may be used for the printing of necessary` directions thereon for the mounting of the base-plate and scaold andthe operation of the figure-toy device otherwise, but not shown on the card in the drawings.

ln Figs. 5 and 6 we-have best shown the structure of the scadold, including both its upright portion and the attaching base-plate. These two members are preferably madel of sheet-metal that is light and suliciently strong to suitably mount the ligure-toys. The upright portion 10 is struck up with vertical side edges 21 that are bent over along the dotted-lines 21 to form. stii'ening flanges that are adapted to supporta vertically adjustable and removable performrae/:asas

ance-stage or dancing-platform 22, also made of sheet-metal and having downturned flanges 23 together with folded or bent-over clips 24, the latter for engagement with the said flanges 21 along the opposite edges of the upright 10, free enough to be slid up or down to suit the desired height of the stage or dancing-platform above the plane of the turn-table 4. Square portions 25 are cut out along three sides thereof in the metal from just below the middle to a point near the upper end of the upright 10, staggered fashion, and each adapted to be bent along the dotted-lines 26 and 27 to form inwardly-flanged arms 28. two at either side ofthe vertical center of the upright 10, the

purpose of which will be shortly referredto. The lower end of the upright 1() is eut to form shallow feet 29 and with laterallyprojecting tongues 30, the latter -being adapted to enter the slots 31 made in the lower ends of the vertical side flanges 21 after the said lower end of the upright 10 has been bent along the dotted-lines 32 into a horizontal ange or base-support 33, and

then said tongues 30 bent over to lock the.

base-support and side Hanges of the upright 10 into' firm and substantial corners. Between the said dotted-lines 32 we make a three-sided cut in the metal that becomes a central foot 34 for the base-support 33, it projecting in an opposite direction to that of the feet 29 and to be applied as we shall now proceed in connection with the structure fof the baseeplate 11. Three l.shaped cuts are made in the base-plate 11, as best shown in Fig. 6, one long cut 35 being at the' fore center thereof, and the other two 36, 36 being short ones atv approximately the longitudinal center of the plate. rlhese cuts are disposed toward each other and are adapted to be upset or upwardly bent along the dotted-lines 36 so as t0 accommodate thereunder the shallow feet 29 and the central foot 34 of the scad'old upright 10, whereby what may be termed a bayonet-connection is made between the lower end of the said upright 10 and the said supporting and attachin base-plate 11, the upright 10 being slid si ewise along the face of the base-plate so that said feet 29 and 34shall enter and lduly wedge beneath the said upset or overhanging parts 36 and 35, respectively, of the cuts, after the lower end of the upright 10' wise, and is preferably composed of a tough card or like stiff material, with a main upper portion 38, a middle or upper leg portion 39, and a lo-wer leg portion 40, the latter having feet that are adapted to dangle or lmove freely upon and over the verticallyadjustable stage or platform 22, as best shown in Fig. 3. rlhe back of the main'portion 38 of the figure-toy is provided with a rearwardly-projecting, angular, supporting flange-clip 41 whose upper horizontal member or flange is adapted to engage a pair of spring jaws 42 of the forwardly-projecting plate 43 that is fastened to the top of the vertical slide-bar 44 by means of small nails or screws, the said slide-bar having grooves' or slits 45 cut centrallyalong its vertical side edges to form guide-ways therein for the up and down reciprocations of the said slide-bar 44, the inwardly-flanged arms 28 on the back of the upright portlon 10 of the scaffold quite freely engaging the said slits 45 and forming guide-ways along either side of said slide-bar so that it may freely carry the ligure-toy upand down along the front of the upright 10, but without touching it, and said scaffold front being capable of presenting an attractive background for the figure-toy when suitably decorated or surfaced. The feet of the figure-toy duly touch the platform at times, but not essentially so, whereby the joints of the toy are caused to turn or bend and then for the legs to be thrown laterally and up and down in all sorts of paths to perform many comical and peculiar movements to add' vislble entertainment to the listener who is also in close sight thereof. j

An eccentric 46 is mounted on a pin or stud 47 near the lower end of the slide-bar v44, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and the periphery of the eccentric is preferably girdled with a rubber tire or band 48 for noiseless and frictionalengagement, in operation, with the smooth or plane edge or margin 9 of the disk-record, or in connection with the peripheral edge of the turn-table itself in the event it is desired to operate the toy with a record of small diameter or without any disk-record on the turni-table at all.

The use of the removable gage or guide card 14 facilitates the accurate setting or placing of the scaffold base-plate at its extreme outermost position, as shown in Fig. 3 for turn-tables of the largestdiameter, or the scaffold base-plate can be mounted nearer the center pm or shaft by using the dotted-line 19 on the guide-card as a guide to be used in the exact placing of said baseplate for turn-tables of lesser diameter, and then the pairs of holes 16 or 18, as the case may be, in the guide-card then used to easily puncture or pre are places or marks for holes in the soun ing-board to accommodate the attaching-screws, to suit the diameter of turn-table or disk-record. j

In Fig. 3 we have shown the device in its high position, the eccentric being with the widest part of its axial diameter lowermost in its revolution, and with the feet of the figure-toy just touching or resting on the platform 22, which latter has been adjusted to suit that initial position of the little ligure-toy or dancer. As the turn-table and its accompanying disk-record advance in their rotations the eccentric is made to frictionally contact and turn therewith along the smooth or plane margin of the diskrecord, whereby the slide-bar is carried up and down at quite a high speed, commensurate or timed with that of said disk-record and its turn-table, the latter being speeded to suit the piece of music being played and the ligure-toy or dancer, inturn, to move in seeming harmony therewith, Hinging its legs and arms in various directions in simulation of the living dancer or other subject being imitated, and to afford much merriment and amusement.

It will be observed that the device is a knock-down affair capable of packing in small compass in boxes for sale or for keeping when not in use.

We claim 1. A figure-toy attachment for a phonograph comprising an upright sca'old adapted to be secured to the sounding-board of the phonograph in juxtaposition to the peripheral edge of the disk-record turn-table, a figure-toy, a` slide-bar upon which the said figure-toy is mounted, guide-ways on the back of the upright scaffold for the vertical reciprocations of the said slide-bar, a miniature performance-stage or platform on the said scaffold for the accommodation of the said figure-toy, and an eccentric roller that is mounted on the said slide-bar for frictional engagement with or without the diskrecord on the turn-table whereby the liguretoy is caused to vibrate or perform.

2. A figure-toy attachment for a phonograph comprising an upright scaffold-member, a detachable base-plate on the soundboard to which said upright scaffold-member is detachably secured, a stage or platform adjustably mounted on the said scaffold-memberfor the accommodation of the figure-toy, a slide-bar moving in guide-ways on the back of the said scaH'old-member, a figure-toy detachably mounted under re- 1silient or spring tension at the top of the said slide-bar so as to vibrate or perform over and upon. the said platform, guideways 1n the slide-bar, an eccentric roller 'mounted at the lower end of the said slidebar'and girdled or faced with a rubber band or tire, a turn-table undcr motor or power driven mechanism, a disk-record mounted lili on the said turni-table and adapted to have on the platform, and means for facilitating driving-contact with the said rubber-faced the accurate gaging and setting Of the said eccentric for the rotations of the latter on detachable base-plate of the scaiold-mem- 10 the smooth or plane margin or'border of the ber in proper mounted position on the soundface of the disk-record and to drive or reciping-board of the phonograph.

rocate the slide-bar vertically for causing EDWN L. DODSON.

the vibratory performance of the figure-toy HENRY GEORGE PELSTRING. 

